Pictures from Honduras #4

One of the things I most appreciated while in Honduras was the Hondurans inhibitions when worshipping God. At every church service I attended while I was there, the people sang with all their hearts, prayed with fervency, and listened to the Word of God intently. It was quite refreshing. Here are some pictures about what I am talking about (click on picture for larger image):

Before every service, people would come forward and use the stage as an altar and lift the service up to God. Even before I taught at the Institute, there were men and women up front praying for the day. In the picture above, the church has laid down a little strip of carpet so people can kneel (the floor was rough concrete).

 

Here is a man at Pastor Moises' church before Sunday's worship service.

Additionally, at every church they had a worship team. They may not have lights, they definitely did not have air conditioning, but they had a great sound system and instruments and musicians who played them. In the previous two pictures above, you see drum sets on the stage. In this picture, the pastor said these men who played for this church's worship team didn't even know what a guitar looked like six months ago but their worship leader taught each of them to play and sing. They did a fine job leading worship. I thought it was interesting that they all coordinated by wearing pink shirts with black pants. They obviously had thought about leading worship for that evening.

 

The reason they were to effectively lead worship, in my opinion, was because they realized they had an audience of One. They were not playing for those in attendance; they were worshiping the One True God. This is evident in the fact that when they were finished tuning and practicing, they gathered to pray. Again, you see how prayer is integral to the worship service in Honduras.

I had to include this picture. They would use whatever they could as a musical instrument to praise God with. The man above is using a turtle shell as a type of cow bell (I have a disease, and the only cure is more turtle shell....I gotta have more turtle shell).

In each church, the people responded in worship with passion and loud, unhindered singing and praying (I will note here that I realize worship is more than singing but I am just focusing on the singing part of worship). There was a point while at the church in this picture where the electricity cut off and the piano stopped and the microphones cut off. This did not stop the people singing their hearts out. It was so beautiful to hear them singing acapello, with all the parts present. I tried to record it with video on my camera but failed to do get it.

Here is another worship service and you see the people praising God unashamedly, raising their hands in praise to God. Their worship services were really celebrations of God and His grace given to us. I would encourage you listen to Louie Giglio about this phenomenon of raising hands in worship (just click his name to watch a video - if you do not have an hour, then start at about 28 minutes and listen for about 8 minutes - it is worth listening to).

 

I was so glad to be able to experience worship in another culture. It is a great thought to remember that Jesus' grace is spread around the world and it is not just America that impacting the world for the Kingdom of God. Nations around the world are ministering to those in their country and bringing people to Christ. It was also refreshing to worship with Christians who are not stunted in their worship but instead pour their hearts and soul out to worshipping God in a manner in which He deserves.

 

More pictures coming...

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Pictures from Honduras #3

I was not in Honduras alone. I actually tagged along with a group from Second Baptist Church from Houston. They were from a small group of singles in their church and several were on the trip from last year, so I recognized several of them. They did evangelism in Olanchito with Pastor Moises (see previous post). They did this through dramas, songs, testimonies, and preaching. Here are some pictures of this great group (click picture for larger image):

This is the group from Second Baptist, along with some extras. From left to right, it is Craig, who actually works for World Hope and is not from the same church but served with the group all week, Donya, who was one of the group's translators and lives in La Ceiba, Kelsey, Jennie, Celia, Pastor Moises (see previous post), Sondra, Kelley, Shafie, Claudia, Carol, David, and Matt. They all participated in some way through the week either in a drama, testimony, song, or something. They worked hard all week. They went to schools during the day and churches during the night. On Saturday, Pastor Moises took the group to the T.V. station where he has his show each week.

 

This was the set up on the T.V. station. It was what you would expect of a T.V. station in any country. I met a young man there name Samuel who showed me around the place while the group was doing their thing. It was neat to see the behind-the-scenes of the station.

This is Kelsey doing "The Sin Box." The Devil, played by Shafie, comes out with a box of sin, or Pecado in Spanish, and the girl jumps in and has fun in her box of sin. She soon finds out she is stuck in sin and cannot get out. Several people try to help her but cannot get her unstuck. Finally, a child introduces her to Jesus and brings her out of sin and into a relationship with him. It is great little skit to show how sin can trip us up and only Jesus can take care of that sin.

Here is another skit but I never really saw it. I just saw this part of the skit and not sure exactly what the message of the skit is. Here, they are obviously crucifying Jesus. Matt is playing Jesus.

Donya, one of the group's translators, Kelsey, and Jennie are singing a song. I don't remember which song it was here but they sang it in English and then Spanish. I like Kelsey's ukulele!

 

The group performed Lifehouse's Everything Drama (if you have not seen it, you can Google it and watch it - a lot of churches do it - it is a very powerful skit). It shows a girl's relationship with Christ being hindered by many of the things of the world. Eventually, she is tempted to end her life. She chooses against that and attempts to get to Jesus however she can but the worldly influences make it impossible. Eventually, Jesus comes to her. Here, Jesus is keeping all the negative influences from influencing the young lady. Then, Jesus throws off all the influences and resumes His relationship with the young lady. It is a powerful skit and this group did a great job with it.

 

Several from the group also gave testimonies throughout the week. Each of them were very well spoken and had powerful testimonies of how God not only worked in their life in the past, but is working in their life now. This group was a dynamo. They continued to minister and when they were asked a moments notice to perform again, they did so with no complaints. I pray that their time in Olanchito will yield a great harvest for the Kingdom of God.

 

More pictures to come...

 

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Pictures from Honduras #2

The trip to Honduras could not have been accomplished without the participating, administration, translation, and humbleness of the local pastors which we ministered. This post will show the churches which I went to and the pastors of those churches. I was honored to preach in a couple of these churches. The description will be under the pictures. (click picture for larger image):

First, from right to left is Noel, my translator for the week, Pastor Jorge Duran, the main partner of WHBI in Honduras, and me. Pastor Jorge organizes all the groups and the continually recruits new pastors to participate. He is an excellent leader and administrator all while being a very humble person. Noel has an incredible command of both Spanish and English and is well versed in theological language in both languages. Without these two men, I could not have been able to minister in Honduras. Pastor Jorge leads Mt. Horeb Baptist Church in La Ceiba.

From left to right, this is Pastor Juan Rivera and Pastor Jorge Duran. Pastor Juan leads Eternal Life Baptist Church in Olanchito. This is the church where we held the Bible Institute. He was very gracious to let us use his building. He sat in all the classes as well and received a certificate. He led us in singing and has a great voice. He made sure we had everything we needed, including the food for lunch. This man of God does a great job shepherding in Olanchito.

 

Here is the building Pastor Juan's church meets in.

 

The man in the middle is Pastor Moises. He is the pastor of River of Living Water Baptist Church in Olanchito. He is a busy man. He has four mission churches and he led the group from 2nd Baptist, Houston all week. He took them to schools, put them on his weekly T.V. show, had them share in different churches throughout the community, and basic ran them ragged. He always has a smile on his face and was trying hard to communicate with us.

 

This is the church building where Pastor Moises church meets to worship.

 

I had the honor of preaching at Pastor Moises' church on Sunday morning (7.21.13). Additionally, one of the Bible Institutes I taught at last year was held here. This is Noel and I sharing on Sunday. I preached on the Temptation of Jesus.

 

This is Pastor Adrian Stoddard on the right. Noel is translating into English for us gringos. Pastor Adrian pastors Living Word Church located in El Pino, just outside La Ceiba. I was not able to get to know him very much as we were not there for very long.

 



This is Pastor Adrian's church building where he and his church worship. It is a new building recently built by WHMI. The building was there but WHMI put up the bricks and enclosed the building. There is still some work to be done to it but it is coming along.

 

 

 Sunday night (7.21.13) I had the privilege to bring the message to Pastor Adrian's congregation. Here Noel is translating for me as I preached John 10:1-11 where Jesus tells us that He is the Gate or the Door.  

 

The group from 2nd Baptist, Houston, did some dramas and preached at a church on Saturday evening (7.20.13). They went to Rivers of Living Water Church in Olanchito (which is a different church from the one mentioned above but I think it is a mission of Pastor Moises' church). The pastor is Pastor Luis, above in the blue shirt. I remembered Pastor Luis from the Institute last year but was not able to be the Institute this year.

Here is the church were Pastor Luis serves. You can see him talking with Noel in the bottom right corner of the picture. You can see Pastor Moises on the left side.

 

Finally, this is Noel and me. I told him I cannot even imagine what goes on in his head. One minute he is listening to English and translating it to Spanish and then the next he is hearing Spanish and translating it to English. He told me all we that him and I were "Chained and Bound," that is, I assume he was told to make sure I was never without a translator. He always had me laughing, like here in the picture. Noel is 70 and still goes to check up on his mom whenever he can (who has to be 90 or more!). He made sure I didn't eat anything I shouldn't, he drove us, he always made me sit in the front seat of the van, he translated, and just made the trip very enjoyable.

 

These men work hard for the Gospel of Christ and are making a different in the Kingdom of God in Honduras. They are seeing people coming to Christ and they are discipling them to not only become mature Christians but to go and plant new churches. I have respect for each of these guys.

 

More pictures to come..



 

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Pictures from Honduras #1

Now that I am home from my trip, I wanted to post some pictures since I was not able to while I was there. I wanted today to be about the reason I went: the pastors and church leaders who I was teaching. Descriptions will be below each picture. Here are some pictures of them (click picture for a larger image):

This is the church we met in. As you can see, we had a good group and they were all eager to dig deeper into the Word of God.

We started each session with a short worship service. They were not afraid to sing at the top of their lungs and raise their hands to the One True God. It was refreshing to be around such honest and heart felt worship.

 

Some of the pastors live a LONG way from where we had classes. One group lived 6 hours away! Here is a group of pastors on their way home after one of the days. The pastor in the cowboy hat was present at last year's Bible Institute, as well. He lives in the mountains and walks an hour down the mountain and then rides a bike another hour to get to the classes. 

When we finished all of the sessions for both classes, we had a group pictures. These in this group are those who were present for every session for both classes. I was impressed not only with the men who attended the classes, but the women as well. Note the one who brought her little one with her. 

 Here is the group with the certificates they received for completing the two classes. They receive certificates after every Bible Institute and then when they complete the entire set of classes (which should take about three years), they will receive a diploma saying they have completed the program. It will not be a degree but it will give them what they need to be equipped to lead whatever ministry they are serving.  

 

This young couple came up to me after the group took the picture with the certificates. They asked if I would take a picture with them. They are probably 23 to 25 years old and she is pregnant. I was honored that they wanted me to take a picture with them...and whenever asks to take my picture, I also take one of them.

 

 

What an honor it was to spend time with these pastors and church leaders in order to help them minister better. I was blessed to be able to do this.

 

More pictures to come...

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The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 7.22.13

You said 'toot.'

Jessica, my daughter (technically it was a text and so not heard).

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Honduras: Day 7

My final day in Honduras. It was a free day. The Houston group went and did some tourist stuff all day, but I stayed at the hotel to rest, reflect, read, and pray. Mostly because I don't care for doing "touristy" stuff, bit also because I really needed the rest. The picture is of my reading/thinking chair outside my hotel room.

 

The rest was good, especially since I have a full day of traveling tomorrow - about 4 1/2 hours of driving and about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of flights to sleep in my own bed tomorrow night. So resting today was important for me today.

I went to the restaurant in the hotel today and paid entirely too much for a very thin hamburger but it was a nice experience. The whole day was refreshing.

As I read part of Nehemiah today, I though about worship. Nehemiah 12:43 says,

And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

It made me think of the singing in the churches we worshipped this week. The people we so free in their worship singing and were so loud that people could hear them from down the road. This verse in Nehemiah speaks if all of God's people walking on the wall around the city being lead by a choir. Their rejoicing and singing out to the Lord was heard from far away.

It is too bad that many in the American church are reserved in their worship and make worship about preference instead about the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of Life.

It is my prayer that when I return home that my worship will be free and about God and not concerned with how I look or what music I like. I want God to make me rejoice with great joy!

 

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Honduras: Day 6

Today I finished my ministry in Honduras. I haven't posted because I haven't had the time. I finished the theological classes on Friday afternoon. That was a half a day earlier than I anticipated but the pastor of the host church said he had advertised that it would finish Friday and he would look bad otherwise. So I made sure I cover all the information by Friday. At the end of the day, we handed out 42 certificates to students who finished both classes.

Saturday, I spent the morning resting and then between 2 and 4 PM I went with the Houston team to a local television station in Olanchito. They performed their dramas and gave some testimonies and some were interviewed, along with myself. They had a great set up there. A young man who works there named Samuel came up to me and we began to talk. He showed me around the station and was real nice.

Saturday night we went to Iglesias Rios de Agua Viva (Rivers of Living Water Church). The pastor there was at the the Olanchito Bible Institute last year. The Houston group did a drama and a song and a testimony and Craig preached. It was a good service.

Today, we all went to Pastor Moises church, Iglesias Agua Viva (Living Water Church). The group again did a drama and a song and a testimony but this time I preached on Matthew 4:1-11, which is the temptation of Jesus. The drama was called "The Sin Box" and showed getting stuck in sin. The sermon went well with it, I believe. At the end of the service, Pastor Moises gave us each a certificate which showed their appreciation for our work around Olanchito. We left Olanchito for La Ceiba after church.

This evening, the group was split in two and half went to a church where Craig preached and half went to another church where I preached. I preached on John 10:7-10, which is where Jesus said "I am the Gate." We were El Pino, I think and the church was Iglesias Palabra Viva (Living Word Church). Pastor Adrian Was the pastor there. The evening went well.

After dinner we got to the hotel late. Tomorrow is a free day. The Houston group is doing something tomorrow but I told them I am hanging out at the Hotel. I am looking forward to going home.

It has been a good trip. I felt like I accomplished the big thing I set out to do down here, which is to teach the pastors whom God sent to the classes. I handed out index cards to the students and asked them for any comments to help me improve. They all wrote something. I look forward to getting those back from world hope. Unfortunately, I was not able to accomplish my second goal for coming and that was for healing and refreshment. But I am going to attempt to accomplish that some tomorrow.

Spanish phrases learned while here (may not be spelled correctly but I can say them)

Todos la comida es racisima

Dios te bendiga

Buenos dias mi hermanos e mi hermanas. Me llamo es Rolland e yo soy pastor de Colorado.

 

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Olanchito Bible Institute: Day 1

We started the Olanchito Bible Institute today. World Hope Bible Institute does an amazing thing all over the world. They take pastors who have a Master's degree and send them to places where theological education is hard to accomplish or out right unattainable and provide free theological training for pastors and church leaders. We were anticipating around 35 students today. We had 62!! I started teaching "Introduction to Orthodoxy" which is a short Systematic Theology. Today I essentiall taught three introductory thoughts, what is theology, who can be a theologian, and where do we get theology.

In brief, I taught that theology, simply stated, is discussion about God. In a broader sense, we discussed Anselm's statement, "faith seeking understanding"; the idea the our faith and love of God drives us to want to know more about him, which IS theology. Additionally, i taught that only believers can "do" theology because they are the only ones who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and non-Christians will not and cannot accept the things of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14).

However, we really camped on sources of theology. We discussed how there can be many different sources we use, such as church tradition, church history, personal experience, reasoning. But we nailed down that scripture is not just a source for theology....it is THE source for theology. I taught the necessity for the pastor and ministry leader to know true doctrine so that they will be stable (Eph 4:11-16), and can confidently preach God's word. I think the most sobering verse we read about this was Deuteronomy 18:20:

But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

How many times have I, or numerous other pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers, ministry leaders, church leaders been presumptuous when speaking to God's people. Manipulating the meaning of the Word of God to make it say something it really does not say. Even teaching today, after reading that verse, a somberness, and serious reality came down one me. Teaching theology to church leaders is an incredibly important and needed discipline.

If you are a pastor (especially of the Baptist persuasion) and reading this post and would like to experience the joy of teaching eager pastors how to be even more effective in their ministry, contact World Hope Ministries International, who conduct these Bible institutes. They have them all over the world and it would be definitely worth your time.

 

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Mission!

Today we landed in Honduras. I met the team with no problem and had a good flight.

We drove about a hour from San Pedro Sula toward La Ceiba and stopped for lunch. After that, we drive for another two hours to La Masica where my driver and his son live. So they stopped at their house and told me I was driving the rest of the way to La Ceiba! I found out that their traffic laws are fairly different from ours and they are not strictly enforced. I had no idea what the speed limit was nor how fast I was going. And if it wasn't for Ruth, the interpreter for our vehicle, I would not have known where I was going. It was quite an adventure. I will try to post a picture of the van-truck I was driving.

We stayed the night in La Ceiba. The group walked over to the local Mall and had some dinner, bought some bottled water, and then came back to the hotel. We will get ready to drive to Olanchito on Wednesday where we will spend the next five days.

Pray for me as I start classes on Wednesday afternoon.

 

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Get Set...

Today I traveled to Houston and am staying the night to meet the rest of the group Tuesday morning. It is my understanding we will all be on the same flight down to Honduras. I am not thrilled about getting off the plane in Houston, getting my bags, finding the hotel shuttle, sleeping, checking in tomorrow morning, going through security...again..., and then flying down, but I am just trying to think of it as another adventure. After all, I was the one who chose this itinerary instead of flying to Houston on Tuesday morning from Denver to make a 9:00 AM flight to Honduras.

The trip to Houston went smooth. It took me 54 minutes from the time I parked my car to get to my gate. I was happy about that. The flight went well. The seat next to me was empty so I just read my book. When I landed I found the shuttle for my hotel and got to my room with no problem.

Overall, for a travel day it was somewhat uneventful...which I really like!

If you are wondering why I am posting the mundane, it is because I have a more and more difficult time remembering things and I want a record. So I post here to help me remember.

So, tomorrow, I am off to the airport, flying to Honduras, and driving to La Ceiba. I will post tomorrow about it. Keep praying, please. I have already felt the benefit from it.

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On Your Mark...

I have my bag packed and I think I am ready to go to Honduras. I have spend the last couple of weeks preparing my teaching notes, I have got my clothes all packed, and I think I have everything ready. I fly out tomorrow for Houston, and then I will meet the rest of the team on Tuesday morning at the airport.

Please pray that God would use me in a unique way while I am on this trip. Please also pray that God give me clear direction for when I get back. Pray that God would work in the pastors and church leaders I will be teaching. Pray for the mission team with whom I will be tagging along.

I hope that I will see some of the students who where there last year. Here is a picture from 2012's World Hope Bible Institute in Olanchito (click picture for larger image). They all were very eager to learn and very appreciative that we would come and teach them. But I was the one who was blessed. I hope to reconnect with some of the students from last time and I hope that we may have some new students, as well.

I will do my best to post while I am down there, although I am not sure I will be able to post pictures until I am back in the states.

Pray for us!

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Another Test...Another App

I am engaging in one more test from my iPad to make sure I can post easily from Honduras. Today, I am using an app named "Blogsy". It is much more dynamic than the previous two apps I have used. I like this app and will probably stick with this one from now on. Not that I think anyone out there cares about this, but I have to post something.

Blogsy has a lot of functionality. I like that it will do the block text, which I use a lot. It also allows the user to directly type in HTML, which, again, I use sometimes. Like the following.

When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses." (Nehemiah 4:14 NASB)

So, I like that I can still do my Bible and other quotes and I can still use the BibleRef link.

As for the Nehemiah quote, in my devotion time today, I was struck that I. The middle of their work, while they were facing opposition from God's enemies, Nehemiah encouraged God's people by reminding them who God is (He is great and awesome) and reminding them they were fighting for those they loved. I may begin to posts my thoughts on Nehemiah soon but for now I will just say I was encouraged by this verse.

 

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Another Test...Different App

I wanted to post another test today using a different app. The previous post was published using the Blogger app for the iPad. Today's post is being created using Posts, which is a free app and much better than Blogger's app. The first HUGE advantage to this app is that I can post links. If Blogger can do that, it it not intuitive.
It is also easy to post pictures. Here is a picture of my daughter doing science at her school.

I have not seen an easy way to post videos, which I would like. So, this app is a step up from the previous app. There is still one more i would like to try. I will post again to see how that handles.

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Testing from iPad

When I go to Honduras in a few days ( see previous post) I want to see if I can get away with bringing only my iPad. So I downloaded the Blogger app and wanted to Test to see what the post would look like when down, what functionality the app had, and if it would be adequate for me to use while out of the country. So far, I have found I cannot post a link, which is perry disappointing. 

So, this is just a test post. 

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Honduras Mission...Again

In ten days, I will be off to Honduras again for a mission trip (to see information regarding my last mission to Honduras, you can click the Honduras 2012 label or the Missions label). I will be doing essentially the same thing except that I will only be going to Olanchito. The map below shows last year's itinerary but Olanchito is one of the cities circled. We will still fly into San Pedro Sula and then drive to La Ceiba and eventually make our way to Olanchito where we will stay for about 8 days (we have not planned to go to Tocoa this year).  (click picture to see a larger image).

 

While in Honduras I will be doing the same thing I did last year except only in Olanchito. That is, I will be train pastors and church leaders through theological education. Specifically, I will be teaching "Introduction to Orthodoxy", which is a very short Systematic Theology class, and "Doctrine of the Holy Spirit." Each class is four hours for three days so, with a translator, the students get about 9 to 10 hours instruction for each class.

 

Last year I shared my teaching responsibilities with Mike Patterson, who was pastor of First Baptist Church, Lorena, Texas at the time, which was a real joy for me. This year, I will be the only instructor so I will be teaching 8 hours a day for 3 days. Additionally, I will be preaching in Olanchito on Sunday morning (and maybe evening?).

 

I am really looking forward to investing in these eager students. Many of them have pastored for a lot longer than I have. Some of the students walk for an hour to get to the classes. All of them sit with ready ears and with a lot of grace as I speak through a translator. Every one of them are blessing to me and even now thinking about it fills me with humility to be able to help them in each of their ministries.

 

Please pray for me and I will work very hard to give updates on this blog as I am in Honduras. I hope to have a few "Funniest Thing I Heard Today" while I am on the trip, so look for those, too.

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Back Again and Still Ranting

So, in five days it will have been a year since I posted anything new. A lot can happen over the course of a year. I will not attempt to outline all the changes that has happened in my life and is happening in my life but I want to share some Scripture that has been shared with me for encouragement.

The first comes from my wife. In an attempt to not only deepen her own faith, but to be the example she wants to be to other women, she has been reading and studying Titus over the last year. There is a lot in that book about how those who are older should be examples to the younger - both men and women. The verse she shared with me was:

Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self-condemned. Titus 3:10-11 (HCSB)

My sister encouraged me with some verses from Romans, which echo the same thought:

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. Romans 16:17-18 (NASB)

Additionally, I read this verse this morning which includes a similar message:

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. 1 Timothy 2:8 (NASB)

There are too many times in the church that we excuse those being divisive, factious (as the NASB says), and who cause dissension. We excuse them because we say "It is just the way they are, it is just their personality." We excuse them because we are too frightened to confront them with what the Bible calls sin. We excuse them because they are people we respect so we say they are just having a bad day. We find all kinds of excuses for them but they are tearing up the church. It is weakening the church's spiritual power and it is causes thousands to leave the church and never come back. After all, why do I need to go to church to watch people fight in a unbiblical manner when I can just watch the world do that.

Instead of causing division and stirring up dissention, those who make up the church MUST give each other grace. We are commanded to give grace and speak grace to all we come across:

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)

This is because the one people who are expected to be gracious and merciful is the body of Christ:

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36 (NASB)

So these verses should spur every believer to two actions. First, we must address the divisive person. No matter how uncomfortable, no matter the consequences, no matter the impact on our relationship, we must address the sin that is impacting the church and work to reconcile that person to God (See Matthew 18).

Second, we must make giving grace to people a priority. The divisions caused in churches today are mostly over superficial issues, like style of music or how people dress, not major issues, like doctrine. Instead of demanding our own way over these nonessential issues, we must learn to give grace to those who need it. Maybe by giving grace we earn the right to invest our lives into others. Maybe by giving grace we can win more people to the Kingdom of God. Maybe by giving grace we learn to be more and more like Jesus every day. We must learn to give grace.

If you are reading this, please post a comment so I know if my ranting is reaching anyone. Also, let me know if there is a topic you want me to revisit or address at some point. It is my intention to post regularly.

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Honduras Details

In preparation for my mission trip in a couple of weeks, I found some details about Honduras just to help me get an idea of where I will be ministering.

First, Honduras is just a little bigger than the size of Virginia, in both square miles and population.

Honduras          43, 278 square miles
Virginia            42,774 square miles

Honduras          2010 estimate          8,249,574
Virginia            2010 estimate          8,001,024

Second, Honduras is the second poorest country in Central America. It suffers from extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, as well as high underemployment.

Honduras' GDP per capita: $4,300 (2011 est.)
United States' GDP per capita: $48,100 (2011 est.)

Third, some of the main products produced in Honduras are bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm, beef, timber, shrimp, tilapia, and lobster (according to the CIA's factbook).

For more information, specifically, information about the spiritual climate of Honduras, look at the Operation World entry for Honduras. There is a lot of additional information located at that link.

These bits of information help me know how to pray for the pastors I will be teaching and learning more about Honduras has been helpful in getting me prepared to go on my trip there. I hope you find this information helpful, as well.

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Honduras Update

I have received a few updates regarding my trip to Honduras. First, the schedule for the entire trip has changed. If you have read my previous post on the details of my Honduras trip you would know that I was original scheduled to teach at 3 cities over 10 days. The institute scheduled for San Pedro Sula was canceled due to some sort of scheduling conflict in Honduras (still not sure what happened there). So, I will be traveling for 8 days and teaching at two institutes.

Second, I will be teaching hermeneutics, or, how to study the bible. That is one of my favorite subjects to teach and I am really looking forward to teaching it. I was able to work on my lessons today and got through a couple of sessions. I will need a few more days to get all the material ready and I will need to do that soon as my departure date is getting closer.

Third, I found out that there will be 35 pastors at the Olanchito institute and 25 pastors at the Tocoa institute. I was also told that the numbers could fluctuate 25% in either direction. I am excited to invest in at least 60 Honduran pastors. One pastor ministers to many people so even invested in one pastor multiplies quickly and if you multiply that by 60 this trip becomes a pretty intense endeavor.

Fourth, it looks like my schedule will look something like this:

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Saturday I will travel to Honduras.
Sunday - I will be preaching in  La Ceiba (you can find it on the map from the previous post.)

Olanchito
Monday - I will teach morning and afternoon classes
Tuesday - My teaching partner will teach morning and afternoon
Wednesday - I will teach morning and my partner will teach afternoon

Wednesday evening we will travel to Tocoa.

Tocoa
Thursday - My partner will teach morning class and I will teach the afternoon class
Friday - My partner will teach both morning and afternoon class
Saturday - I will teach both morning and afternoon classes

Sunday I will travel back to America.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Finally, I have begun taking my Typhoid meds which should immunize me for 5 years against Typhoid (Yikes! Let's hope thats not a problem). I will begin my Malaria medication right before I leave.

So, things are progressing. I need to get my material all prepared and I need to think about packing. I am trying not to be nervous. Please pray for me that God will prepare my heart for whatever ministry He has prepared for me.

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Preparing for Honduras

I went to the doc's today and I got my vaccinations and prescriptions I need for traveling to Honduras. I got the first of two Hepatitis A shots, a Tetanus shot, and prescriptions for Malaria that I will have to take daily while I am in Honduras, for Typhoid which I will have to take before I leave, and then one more prescription for an antibiotic in case I get....um....shall I say "stomach problems" while I am there.

I was expecting the Malaria pills but the others surprised me. The doc was trying to talk me into getting a polio booster as well. I was not really interested in that. The CDC recommends adult who are traveling to other countries where polio is still around to get a polio booster but I did not want to do that. I think I will be fine.

The pharmacy did not have the Malaria or the Typhoid meds so they will be in Tuesday. I figure out when I need to start them according to that schedule.

I know if you are world traveler, this is all "old hat" to you but it was my first time getting all these shots and prescriptions. Makes me thankful for living in a time where these treatments are readily available. It also makes me think of what it would take to bring these meds to the nations struggling with these diseases and make them as safe as I am in my little world.

I know there are all kinds of campaigns to fix this problem; like the mosquito nets to reduce the spread of malaria: Worldvision and Bite Back and Nothing But Nets and MEDA and so on (I have not checked out these non-profit sites so I am not endorsing them). There are many who are fighting for this cause. It just makes me think I could be doing more.

I am so looking forward to spending time in Honduras. I will send more information as it comes

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Honduras Mission Details

I found out some of the details for my mission trip to Honduras. First, I will be going for 10 days instead of the initial 7 days. So, as I understand it, I will be leaving July 5th and will be returning July 14th. I don't know for sure because World Hope Bible Institute (WHBI) are still working out the itinerary. The extra days are so that we can fit in another city to teach in.

The picture below outlines my itinerary. I will explain below the picture (click picture to see a larger image).

I will fly into San Pedro Sula (#1 on map) and teach there first. I am not sure how long that will be yet. Then, I will fly to La Ceiba (#2) and then I will take a four hour drive to end up in Olanchito (#3) and will teach there. I do not know how long I will be there either. Then, I will make my way to Tocoa and will teach there. Once again, I am not sure for how long. I am assuming I will be staying two days in each teaching location or maybe 3 days.

I am excited that I get to see several places in this country. It looks like I will see a range of terrain throughout the country. The image below shows the different terrains of the cities I will be teaching. The orange circles approximate where I will be (click picture for a larger picture).

In addition to the terrain, and of course, more importantly, it looks like the places I will be going will be somewhat populous. San Pedro Sula will be the most populous, then Olanchito, and then Tocoa. Here is a map of the population of Honduras (click picture for a larger image).

Finally, I thought it was interesting that I would be staying in three different states (is that what they are called in Honduras? Anyone know?). San Pedro Sula is in Cortes, Olanchito is in Yoro, and Tocoa is in Colon. I just thought that was interesting (click the picture for a larger image).

Just as a reminder, the trip will be a group of American pastors teaching Honduran pastors various aspects of ministry. At this time, I do not know what I will be teaching but that information is coming soon from WHBI. They provide a curriculum and there will some things they require I cover in the class and then I will be able to add whatever the Lord leads me to teach. As I said in my previous post, my "life verse" is 2 Timothy 2:2 and this trip will be being faithful to that verse.

Additionally, this will be fulfilling my personal commitment to The Radical Challenge that I challenged Summit Baptist Church, the church I pastor, to commit to throughout 2012. This will be spending my time in another context.

Please pray for me as this trip is coming incredibly fast. Pray that God would prepare the hearts of the pastors in Honduras. Pray that God will work in my heart to share what He would have me share with those precious men of God serving there. Pray that my preparation will be fruitful. Pray that God will change me to become more like Him through this trip.

More updates are forthcoming!

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